This session is being offered on May 11 & August 24
Note: People are welcome to any of the 3 topics and are not required to attend all 3 topics.
This third topic in our death awareness series, we venture into the terrain of grief and explore what arises when we purposefully process loss in our day-to-day lives.
Grief often begins long before a loved one passes, taking us on an unanticipated physical and existential journey. If we tend to our grief like a garden, it reveals its potential for growth. It may arrive timidly upon a diagnosis, hurriedly as an end nears, or suddenly with unexpected loss. Most importantly, grief forces us to pay attention by slowing… us… down.
Together, we will explore the different dimensions of loss—relational, functional, material, and the shifting of roles. We will discuss the “six needs of grief,” understand grief as a reservoir, and find ourselves held within the intimacy of a safe, supportive container. We will also introduce creative rituals as “helpers”, tools designed to bridge the gap between grief and a sense of healing and hope.
Over a bowl of fresh summer soup, Amanda will facilitate a deeper understanding of the subtle needs of grief. We will explore how being present in the body and in nature can support us, showing us how the heart can grow even in the midst of pain. Here, we learn that suffering can be a wise companion, helping us tend to and mend the holes left in our hearts.
“Go into your grief, for there your soul will grow.” – Carl Jung
“Grief is life turning toward itself,” Trauma Stewardship by Laura van Dernoot Lipsky
“If you live deeper in the Heart, the mirror gets clearer and clearer.” – Rumi
Participants should be at least six months past a significant grief experience, or receiving individual support before the workshop. This helps ensure everyone is appropriately supported during the event.
Amanda Coggin has led death awareness conversations for the last 15 years in Buddhist hospice work and as a hospital chaplain in San Francisco, California. She is leading this series of talks discussing various aspects of the dying process with the aim of bringing awareness to this important topic that has been largely left unspoken in the past. We hope these discussions will support and prepare the community for the dying process.
CineMusic Films Live Special in Concert connects the intensity of a symphonic orchestra with the emotion of film. On this concert evening in The Hague, presented by René Mioch, iconic film music and carefully selected film scenes are brought together into one immersive live experience. This edition is a special, featuring the large CineMusic Film Orchestra and a 24-member CineMusic Choir. From the first to the last note, the performance evokes goosebumps, recognition, and emotion. CineMusic is coming to Amare in The Hague on May 13.
Under the direction of conductor Henk Ummels, the CineMusic Orchestra, consisting of musicians from the Metropole Orchestra, the Residentie Orchestra, and the Schönberg Ensemble, among others, performs world-famous film music live while original film scenes are shown on the big screen. CineMusic selects the scenes itself so that image and music align perfectly. Image and sound come together in, among others, Interstellar (composer Hans Zimmer), Tintin (composer John Williams), The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (by composer Ennio Moricone), How to Train Your Dragon (by composer John Powell), and many other film compositions.
Teamwork
The evening is hosted by film journalist René Mioch, who takes the audience on a journey with anecdotes and stories about the films and composers. Together with the live music, this creates an evening that goes beyond a traditional concert or film screening. CineMusic performs in theaters and concert halls throughout the country and has given more than eighty successful concerts to date, including a sold-out special at the Royal Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. The audience rates the concerts an average of 9+, making CineMusic one of the highest-rated live music experiences in the Netherlands. “The moment the orchestral music coincided with that famous film scene… it really gave me goosebumps. It was like reliving the film, almost even more intensely.”
On Friday the 29th of May Stroom Den Haag opens ⌀ [dia], the first solo exhibition by artist Ana María Gómez López in the Netherlands.
With ⌀ [dia], Ana María Gómez López introduces a layered and sensorial practice where scientific research and artistic imagination intertwine. At the core are ten self-experiments developed by the artist or inspired by historical examples. For instance, Gómez López undergoes the process of growing a pearl inside her mouth, germinates a seed in her eye, and orients herself—like migratory birds—through earthly magnetic fields. Several of these experiments unfold as works in progress, while others remain unresolved or proved impossible. Together, they form a constellation in which the tension between control and surrender becomes tangible.
Gómez López positions the body as an influential instrument through which the world can be explored, questioned, and experienced. ⌀ [dia] demonstrates the relationship between bodily processes and larger ecosystems, from geology to astrology. Through photography, time-based media, and artifacts, the artist dissolves distinctions between scales, disciplines, and forms of knowledge, making palpable how these levels continuously interact and shape one another.
By presenting self-experimentation as a method, ⌀ [dia] offers a compelling counterpoint to today’s data-driven culture. At a time when knowledge is increasingly shaped by algorithms and abstract systems, the exhibition re-centers the body as a knowledge source. ⌀ [dia] shows how our personal and physical experiences are essential to how we understand a rapidly evolving world. With this exhibition, Stroom highlights the vital role of artists in imagining new worlds, where the body functions as an essential starting point.
Networks of Embodiment The exhibition is part of Stroom’s long-term program Networks of Embodiment, which places the body and sensory experience at the center of its exploration of social issues such as climate, technology, and inequality. Within this framework, artists are invited to develop new ways of imagining and engaging with these themes.
Public program ⌀ [dia] is accompanied by a public program that will start on June 9, 2026. On that date we gladly welcome you to an artist talk with Ana María Gómez López in collaboration with the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague. More information about this event and the upcoming program will soon be announced on our website. The exhibition is made possible with the support of the Mondriaan Fund and the Municipality of The Hague.
29 May – 26 July 2026 Stroom Den Haag, Hogewal 1-9, The Hague Opening: Friday 29 May 2026, 17:00 hrs
With more than 100 bunkers and dozens of activities, there is plenty to discover during Bunker Day . Time to plan your route. Whether you visit one location or combine several, you can decide for yourself what your Bunker Day will look like. Many locations are close together, making it easy to turn it into a day out.
What makes Bunker Day special is that you experience history where it took place. Today, bunkers are often hidden in the landscape: in the dunes, along the beach, or right in the city. During Bunker Day, these concrete structures become visible again and the past comes to life.
In addition to visiting the bunkers, there is plenty to do at many locations. For example:
On Tuesday, May 5, the table will be set early for 125 young people at the Liberation Festival. Noa and Cato, aldermen from the Madurodam board, will have lunch with these young people. Alongsidedelicious Freedom Soupand TheHague Hap dishes,conversations about freedom will take place. Mayor Jan van Zanen will open the lunch with The Legendairs at 10:30 AM. Participation is free, but please register via madurodam.nl/nl/vrijheidsmaaltijd-5-mei .
“Yes, we are starting early.So before the Malieveld erupts, you will already be inside the Liberation Festival grounds and richer for a unique experience! This year, Tuesday, May 5th is the last day of the May holidays for many schools. We already have 75 registrations, but there is certainly still room for at least 50 young people, so sign up quickly,” say Noa and Cato, who have both heard a lot about the meal and are joining for the first time themselves. Host Elton Kiene will guide the young people through the program on May 5th, and the talents from NOTES, BEATS, and BARS of the Residentie Orkest will perform.
This is the fourth time that Madurodam Kinderfonds is organizing this Hague Freedom Meal for young people . “This year, too, on Tuesday, May 5, 2026, we hope to pull many young people out of their bubbles and connect them with other young people. In doing so, they expand their network and become more aware of themes such as peace and freedom, as well as the role they play in this themselves. And the young people? They are yearning for that meeting, conversations about freedom, each other’s stories, a meaningful way to celebrate Liberation Day, and of course, good food. So, it’s a win-win!” says Elke Botje, manager of Madurodam Kinderfonds.
The Hague Freedom Meal for youth is organized jointly with the Hague Freedom Meals, Liberation Festival The Hague, and the Residentie Orchestra, and receives funding from the Madurodam Children’s Fund and the Vfonds.
On Sunday 26 April, the heart of The Hague will once again turn into one big free music adventure for Koningsnacht.
THE LIFE I LIVE Koningsnacht is all about discovering, wandering, finding your way back and suddenly standing in front of a stage where everything is happening.
Six stages create a route through the city centre, from dusk until late into the night.
Lange Voorhout: three routes at once
At the Rabo Stage, it is electropop to the max. Prins S. en De Geit open with their wild energy and new bangers such as Bidden In De Moshpit. Pitou follows with her brand-new album P2, bringing indie folk and experimental sound worlds that are a live experience in themselves. Elmer launches her live show with quirky electronics and sharp humour.
Later in the evening, Flaire and Lynks take things further, with next-level boyband energy alongside masked club sounds from London’s queer underground. DJ Prosciutto, a true Hague local, keeps the evening moving between acts with hits, classics and everything that swings.
At the PROOOST Stage, another current flows: Le Motat with indie bangers and tearjerkers, 54 Enterprise with Maximum Agga hip hop, stay away from dante! with hip hop, soul and pop from the Bijlmer, Kaat van Stralen with feminist post-punk and Baby Berserk with 80s synth pop.
In the middle of Lange Voorhout, the Club PAARD Silent Disco keeps the club route open with Versano, Mispoes and DJ Drippa.
Plaats and Kerkplein: from close-up sounds to deep into the night
At the Plaats, the programme begins with Romy Liz Rose and Prins Raagini, before Trixie Whitley takes over the stage with intense soul and blues. Komodo then follows with their sultry desert dance, before Boogie Beasts celebrate fifteen years of raw blues energy.
At Kerkplein, hosted by PIP, the night moves further and further towards the dance floor with Nienquepasa, Pelanoir, Fafi Abdel Nour and Makam: from laid-back grooves to 90s house, techno and club energy deep into the night.
Grote Markt: full speed until the end
Ingenious musical weaving, dance drive, alternative punk rock, growling electropop and power funk come together in one final stretch with Socks;SportsSocks, Lézard, Jools, Gespuys and High Fade.
Together with partners PIP, Popdistrict and Club PAARD, each location has its own identity, while the route as a whole remains one night. Hague names run like a thread through the programme. You choose your own path, but everywhere you hear the city.
Festival facts: THE LIFE I LIVE Koningsnacht
• Six stages, almost thirty acts, Koningsnacht The Hague style • Sunday 26 April 2026, The Hague city centre • Programme from 19:00 • Warming-up at Lange Voorhout from 18:00 with DJ Prosciutto • Free entry for everyone • Expected weather: dry, clear and fresh, so a jacket and sturdy shoes are recommended • Pin only, cup return system, bicycle parking and toilets, including accessible toilets • Full programme, timetable, map, FAQ and accessibility document via www.thelifeilive.nl • Official afterparty from 23:30 at PAARD: Guilty Pleasures, hits & bangers, tickets €10
